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Cooma, New South Wales 1976

Canberra – The Snowy Mountains has its own Abominable Snowman, according to local reports.

Known as “the Yowie,” the creature is said to be 2.1 to 2.4 metres tall and covered in hair. A report in the Queanbeyan Age said there had been several sightings in recent weeks. Skiers have reported large footprints in the snow, the paper said.

A set of strange footprints have been discovered in a farmyard near Cooma, 112km south of Canberra. But a check with the Cooma Visitors centre shows that if the “Yowie” is lurking near the town, the local population has not bee alerted. A spokesman for the centre said yesterday a Woman reported seeing a naked Aboriginal running out of the bush. He believed she might have had too much to drink – but there had not been any reports of a Yowie in the district.

Another report said that sightings coincided with a drive for tourists in the region. But the visitors centre said it had a record month. The latest reported sighting of the footprints was on August 15 near Kiandra, about 80kn south of Cooma. The report was from a Queanbeyan resident who wished to remain anonymous. The newspaper report said that the prints were “large man-like tracks in the snow”.

But a check with the Cooma paper drew a blank on the likely whereabouts of the creature.

Following report from the City Final Telegraph (Brisbane), dated the 11th of October, 1976.

The Australian Capital Territory and Snowy Mountains residents awoke this morning to the question: Has anyone seen a two metre tall ape-man?

If anyone can produce such a creature the finder could earn $100,000.

The Queanbeyan City festival has offered this reward to encourage people in the areas south of Canberra to the Snowy Mountains to look for what is called a Yowie. Queanbeyan is nine kilometres (six miles), from the Centre of Canberra. Cooma at the entrance of the Snowy Mountains is 112km (70 Miles), away.

Queanbeyan City festival organiser Mr Jim Belshaw said today the hundred thousand dollar reward offer was genuine. Reports of sightings of the Yowie have increased over the last few months including pictures of footprints in the local newspaper, the “Queanbeyan Age.”